Blueberry Cream Cheese Kolaches

Blueberry Cream Cheese Kolaches make a sweet start to your day. Once you’ve had one, you’ll be baking up kolaches whenever you can!

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Okay, if you’re anything like me, you look at the title of this post and go, “What the heck is that word? How do you say it?!” Kolash? Let me help you out a little bit – it’s a koe-la-chee. Strong ‘e’ at the end of the word.

Yeah, I didn’t quite get it either. When I was browsing Fleischmann’s website, www.breadworld.com, for new breakfast ideas, I stumbled on this recipe and was intrigued. The picture drew me in because they sort of look like a Danish, but with a different, heartier dough. And when you’re looking at the sweet versions (there are savory too), you definitely see all the same sorts of fillings; blueberry, cream cheese, cherry, lemon, raspberry…pretty much any preserve or pie filling will do well in this recipe.

Leave it to my friend Amber to school me on just exactly what a kolache is, and maybe more importantly, how to say it. You see, Amber is a very proud Texan, and she knows a fair bit about Texas food history. It turns out kolaches came over to Texas with German and Czech immigrants in the 1800s. There was a massive wave of immigration then due to religious persecution, and today, kolaches are very much a part of Texas food history. Learn something new every day, doncha? Me too.

The sweet versions are made to look very much like Danishes. The filling goes in the center of the open-topped pastry, so that you can see just what you’re getting. If you go for a savory kolache, you’ll get something that looks more like pigs n’ a blanket. Savory kolaches almost always contain a kielbasa-like breakfast sausage, plus cheese, and sometimes even jalapeños! Sounds like my kind of breakfast treat.

The commonality between the sweet and savory kolaches is their dough. Kolache dough is ever so slightly sweet, with just a little bit of tang. Sometimes that’s provided by sour cream, while other recipes call for sweetened condensed milk. When you combine the sour cream and yeast, the ‘tang’ is a bit stronger than it would be with sweetened condensed milk, and I personally think it’s awesome. The perfect match for sweet jammy filling.

Amber tells me that fruit and cream cheese combo kolaches are quite common, and that her favorites are raspberry or apricot. We love blueberries around here, so what better way to introduce kolaches into our lives than with one of our favorite fruits? Plus, I think these could make for a perfect Easter brunch treat, don’t you?

At first glance, Kolache dough can appear to take a little bit of a time commitment, but don’t let that fool you because almost all of it is just the dough resting and rising. The other thing I’ve got to mention is that I want you to have a gentle hand when you handle it. The more you work dough, the tougher the resulting bread will be; that’s true of sandwich bread and kolache dough alike. So treat it kindly, and you will have the most supple, delectable kolaches you can imagine.

The best part about working with the yeast I use is I don’t worry about making time for multiple rises, because I used Fleischmann’s® RapidRise Yeast. It’s the most reliable yeast I’ve ever used, so I’m starting to approach baking projects like this without fear. Gotta love that!

I made a cream cheese filling to put into the dough indentations first, and then dolloped the blueberry pie filling on top of that – you can skip the cream cheese mixture if you want, and feel free to use any sort of preserves or pastry filling you like. I also added a little streusel topping, because you simply can’t go wrong with streusel topping – ever. Cherry pie filling is definitely next on our list. Think cherry cheesecake with a kolache dough base. Oh, yes!

I’d love to know if you’ve tried kolaches. Do you prefer sweet, or savory? I’ve definitely also got sausage and cheese on my list – with extra jalapeños! If you give these Blueberry Cream Cheese Kolaches a try, don’t forget to bake a little extra and share the love, because they’re sure to be a hit!

While the dough is resting, prepare the cream cheese filling and streusel topping.

For the Cream Cheese Filling

In a medium bowl with an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese, sugar, and egg until fully incorporated and smooth.

Sprinkle in flour and mix until combined.

For the Streusel Topping

Place the flour, sugar, and butter into a food processor and pulse until crumbly, or use a pastry blender to incorporate the butter into the flour and sugar.

To Assemble the Kolaches

Make a deep and wide indentation on each dough ball by pushing outward toward edge, leaving 1/2-inch ridge around outside. I used a metal tablespoon measuring spoon that was coated with nonstick cooking spray to create the indentations.

Fill with a heaping teaspoon of the cream cheese mixture and top that with a heaping teaspoon of of pastry filling.

Sprinkle kolaches with streusel topping.

Cover with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

Let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

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I haven’t heard of these before! They look amazing! Definitely can’t go wrong with cream cheese and blueberries!

I totally want to try one of these!! Looks so good, Jamie!

I’m a former Texan and can attest to how delicious these are. Kolaches are found in the hill country/ south Texas area and everyone loves them. Looking forward to trying your recipe. I prefer them sweet!

I hope you enjoy them!

Around here, (Cedar Rapids, IA), there are many Czech descendents and even a part of town called Czech Village. The bakeries and churches around here make many varieties, with poppy seed and prune among the most traditional flavors, but cherry and apricot are popular, too. They pronounce it ko-lach, though, with a silent e. Thanks for sharing this variation – I’m anxious to try blueberry and cream cheese!

The name alone got me curious since I had never heard of them. Thanks for introducing me to something new that looks absolutely delicious! Can’t wait to give a recipe a try.

I hope you enjoy them, Celia!

I grew up eating these – my whole family is Czech. My grandmother made the best ones. Good tip about not overworking the dough. I’m at high altitude now so it’s a little harder to make these and have them come out soft but I’m game to try again! Thanks for reminding me! I think I’ll make some for Easter!

Hi, Deborah! I’m convinced no one makes anything better than grandma! I hope you enjoy them!

We lived in TX for the first 18 years of our marriage and had a kolache/donut bakery right by our house. We stopped weekly and you are right the jalapeno sausage are amazing. When we moved to Seattle 10 years ago, no one had ever heard of them. We finally found a donut shop where it seemed someone had tried to explain a kolache to him and he had a dough filled with ground sausage patties. Not good! We have just gone without unless we are back in TX. My grown sons are coming for Easter and I can’t wait to try out this recipe for them. Will have to do some savory and a few sweet ones for Easter brunch. I actually have never had them with sweet filling but they sound delicious. Think I will use strawberry jam from Pikes Place Market along with the cream cheese.

Hi, Kristi! I’m so glad your sons are visiting for Easter. I hope you all enjoy them!

For those of us in other countries that follow your blog please could you give us the equivalent amount of instant yeast that needs to be used as individual yeast packages’ vary in weight from country to country.

I always like your blogs and recipes dear.You are a wonderful blogger.This Blog is also a hats off blog.

Thanks

Cookie Gifts

What a lovely thing to say! You made my day! All the best to you!

Ok, prior to seeing this post, I had no idea what the heck a kolache was. I’m sold now though (didn’t take long). Fruit + cream cheese combos are my kryptonite. Gimme a danish over a donut any day. All about these!

I agree, Gina! Take care!

For the past 25 years, the small town of Elba, NE holds their Kolaches Shootout. Entrants must bring 3 dozen kolaches, any flavor, and a winner is chosen. They sell the rest to raise money for community projects. A polka band plays in the afternoon, and hundreds of people attend. You should CZECH it out!

That sounds fabulous, Laurie! All the best to you!

I’d heard of kolaches before, but never had them until a year ago. A friend asked me to make some for her birthday, so I’ve now had lemon cream cheese and blueberry cream cheese! Mine didn’t turn out quite as tall as yours, but they were tasty!

Hi, Rachel! They are good, aren’t they? Good hearing from you!

Hi, I am originaly from Czech Republic a i literaly grown up on them. My grandma made the best kolace in the village! Who never had them before should definatly try them! They are easy to make and absolutly delish xx

Hi, Ash! Your grandmother’s sound wonderful! I think every region/country might have a different variation that make them unique. Take care!

Great kolaches! I appreciated that the kolache dough could be refrigerated overnight. It’s a lot less overwhelming to be able to space out all of the steps. I brought these into work the other day and they were a hit. Great recipe!

Thank you, Ana! I hope your coworkers enjoyed them!

There are just two of us at home now.

I often wish we could enjoy the same things that households with many members can. Is this a recipe that could be constructed up until the last raising then frozen so individual servings can be baked?
We’d really love to see a section of recipes that can be made this way. Call it ‘Just for you … too’ .
(That was a deliberate play on ‘two’)
Thank you from a baked goods lovin’ family.

Thank you so much for the suggestion, Ruth Ann! I think you should try freezing them and see how it goes. I’d love to hear your results! I know a lot of people enjoy making a pan of brownies and freezing each one individually. I also have a guide on How to Freeze Cookie Dough that may be of interest to you. Any baked goods lovin’ family is family of mine…take care!

It’s fun to see this variation of a Kolache recipe. Looks yummy! My grandmother was a baker who emigrated from Czecheslovakia (Czech Republic) to TX then CA. She taught me her recipe using hoop cheese, poppy seeds or plums. And the filling was always inside with a sweet crumb topping.

My grandma was full Bohemian and made these all the time. They are so great. Can’t wait to try this recipe!!

Let me know what you think, Sarah!

Kolaches are a big deal in Texas. I have had more than I should admit. I prefer sweet, though. The sausage are good, but if I was told I could only have one from a selection, it would be fruit every time.

Kayla-
Unfortunately, I have zero experience with baking at higher elevations. Here is a great guide from King Arthur Flour though.

Those kolaches look delicious, I do make them also especially for our church duck and pork dinner, we live in a Czech community ln Nebraska, most of the ladies make them, but it is a dying art among the younger gals. My niece owns a bakery in Clarkson, NE. and they make many dozen kolaches and other bakery daily and deliver to nearby towns she also does mail orders.